Ship Cafe
Cast & Crew
Robert Florey
Carl Brisson
Arline Judge
Mady Christians
William Frawley
Eddie Davis
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In the hold of a passenger liner, Chris Anderson leads the stokers in "Blow the Man Down" as they shovel coal into the fires. Chris, a Dane, becomes enraged when Donovan, another sailor, calls him "Dimples." The two soot-covered men fight with their shovels as they are watched by the Countess Boranoff, who is most impressed with the strong Chris. Chris finds himself in jail, and is told by Jones that Donovan is recovering but that he has missed his ship. Chris's cellmate, Briny O'Brien, takes him to his "Ship Cafe," a nightclub in a vessel at anchor. After bickering with his girl friend, Molly, Briny hires Chris as bouncer. Eddie Davis, a singer at the Ship Cafe, offers his audience sweet or "hot" songs. After living in the Ship Cafe for several weeks, Miss Ruby, a dancer Chris likes, invites him to her apartment for breakfast. When Eddie is sick, Briny, Molly and Ruby plan to perform at the cafe, but at the last minute the nervous Chris is called upon to entertain the crowd. In the audience are the countess and Rocky Stone, the heavyweight champ. When she goads him into calling Chris "Dimples," Chris knocks Rocky out with one blow. Soon, Chris is drawing crowds as the cafe's regular entertainer, and he and Ruby fall in love. After an argument with Ruby, the countess lures the naïve Chris away from the cafe by promising to give him his own nightclub. Instead she turns him into her companion and has him trained in social graces, until one day he leaves in disgust after Ruby compares him to a lap dog. Meanwhile, Briny opens a new, larger Ship Cafe, where Eddie performs. Chris wanders the foggy waterfront, where he meets Molly and tells her of his yearning for Ruby. To bring them together, Eddie has Chris sing in his place at the cafe that night, but Ruby continues to rebuff him. Chris prepares to return to sea, and as the ship's cargo is loaded, Ruby climbs into a net and is swung toward the ship. She falls into the harbor, and Chris plunges in after her and they kiss.
Director
Robert Florey
Cast
Carl Brisson
Arline Judge
Mady Christians
William Frawley
Eddie Davis
Inez Courtney
Grant Withers
Hedda Hopper
Irving Bacon
Harry Woods
Fred Warren
Jack Norton
Lita Chevret
Beulah Mcdonald
David Newell
James Murray
Douglas Blackley
Lew Kelly
Lloyd Ingraham
Robert Homans
George Andre Beranger
Carleton Griffin
Bob James
Eddie Kane
Roger Gray
Earl Pingree
Edward Earle
Dave O'brien
Keith Daniels
Olaf Hytten
Norman Ainsley
Ottola Nesmith
Laura Treadwell
Isabelle La Mal
Rolfe Sedan
Alden Chase
Lotus Thompson
Zack Williams
Harry Cording
Stanley J. Sandford
Ted Oliver
Crew
Hans Dreier
Herbert Fields
A. E. Freudeman
Lewis Gensler
Lewis E. Gensler
Lewis E. Gensler
Earl Hedrick
Henry Herzbrun
Harold Hurley
Don Johnson
Vernon Keays
Ray Noble
Arthur Singley
James Smith
Theodor Sparkuhl
Harlan Thompson
Harlan Thompson
Adolph Zukor
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was The Bouncer. Although early production charts credit Harlan Thompson and Herbert Fields with original screenplay, later production charts credit associate producer Lewis E. Gensler with original story, and the final production chart credits Gensler with original story and Thompson, Harlan and Brian Hooker with screenplay. Screen Achievements Bulletin states that the screenplay, by Thompson and Harlan, was developed "from a studio original," which May have been conceived by Gensler. It is unclear what contribution, if any, Hooker made to the final screenplay. A Hollywood Reporter production chart on September 16, 1935 lists Duke York in the cast, although his appearance in the final film has not been confirmed. In modern sources, director Robert Florey stated that exteriors for the film were shot in Wilmington, CA. This May have been the last film in which actor James Murray, who drowned in the Hudson River in July 1936, was billed.
